So there are some things which may not be intuitively obvious about the game - I thought I'd share them here as tips for new players (or as possible improvement points for devs to clarify on in-game.)

First and foremost - you'll die and lose. That's ok. Then you start over and try to do better. You can do better a few ways - primarily, by playing better. Also, perhaps by using some of the unlockables (e.g. pets, items from shops, etc.)

Secondly - your unlockables are mostly for Dungeons really, and not Side Quests - since they are usually in the form of the "Preparations" screen. The first main dungeon has two crossed swords and a red banner. I was trying to complete other side quests before even trying the main dungeon, and was frustrated to find that I couldn't take advantage of things like Pets and other classes. (Devs - could you make this clear in either the description for Side Quests or in the Store area?) The side quests are the ones with orange banners and require certain amounts of crowns to unlock (crowns can be earned by clearing other side quests at least.) There is a third currency (blue icon) - I haven't done the Dungeons yet, but presume you can get these there. In completing a number of side quests, I have yet to see any.

Some tips during the actual combat gameplay:

Equip upgrades *immediately* - you don't want to wait to scroll to the next battle only to have an event which causes you to lose that cool upgrade.

Use your characters' special abilities regularly, but you can also try to charge them up on the last foe in a fight to go into the next fight at full strength.

Use the Speed x3 key carefully - you may have some very frustrating deaths if you are reckless with it.

Some classes (or only in some side quests?) have auras - these are next to their normal special ability. I can find no reason not to have all of these activated all the time...so make sure you check for that at the beginning of a fight to turn them on.

You will know your character's special ability is ready to cast when they get a light glow under their feet. This is a great visual cue when managing your team.

While it may be tempting to make a single, super-buff character at the highest level - you should try to share the leveling love. While this juggernaut can be awesome, if his comrades fall in combat the "Outnumbered" debuff will cause you much pain.

I believe (someone confirm?) that getting the killing blow on an enemy gives an XP - each character's XP is shown when you click on them (looks like 3 kills = 1 level-up?) There are little dots which function as indicators for this.

Ranged weapons are great when you outnumber your foe to really pummel them to death. However, characters attacking someone not in their "lane" will not have their Special Ability meter charge up.

Different classes or characters may get different benefits from weapon upgrades - depending on their power in various stats (and how you have leveled them up.) So your warrior may do better with a sword than a staff, but your priest may prefer the opposite.

If you pause fighting and select "Main Menu" - you get no confirmation of what you are doing and go straight to "Game Over" and then the title menu. I didn't know this and was just looking for a place to look at game settings (for things like keybindings, etc.) This made me sad.

Some questions I have for the devs or other players:

Do special ability meters go up when hit or when being hit, or based on time in a "lane"?

Is the 3-kills per-level-up consistent across higher-levels?

Is there a recommended progression between Side Quests and Dungeons? I know the "tutorial" levels were Side Quests, and so I started with those and haven't even tried the first Dungeon yet. The rewards aren't clear before starting them, and neither is the difficulty (maybe that's ok?)

Is there a key for selecting your character by position? I like using keys for abilities and for speed changes, so it would be nice to do this as well.

Is there an explanation of some abilities? For instance - Charm, Flinch? Does charm stop the attacking or cause them to attack friendlies? The seem to continue the attack animation. Mage abilities - could tooltips be clarified to indicate these target all enemies, not just the one you share a "lane" with?

Is there a penalty to attack speed or anything for using a shield?

All in all - I really like this game and it was a good mix of some frustrations and some success. I like the artwork quite a bit and found the game to be a fun challenge. I've probably played 4-6 hours already and I feel like I've only scratched the surface. I found myself wanting to hit the spacebar and pause mid-combat to issue commands and reposition my squad a la FTL (but you can't), but maybe that's just me. Would buy again!

First, thanks this comprehensive feedback. I wish I had it sooner, but now I might think about an update for the game ;)To answer your questions : - Special ability meters go up when being hit. Basically it needs 5 hits to fill the jauge, but it may be affected by conditions.- Yes, 3 kills for a level is a permanent rule, only affected by Wisdom Rune. Only certain monsters don't give an XP (Zombies for example)- The system so you can try Dungeons or Side Quests either way. Some Quests help to train yourself with some characters, though, so if you get stuck in a Dungeon you can try a couple of Side Quests.- No there is not. I think it would mess with the intended gameplay and the overall controls.- There are popups for almost everything on screen if you hover with the mouse. Maybe some specific specials need more explanation, I agree. Charmed monsters attack other monsters.- Not at all. Better shields are only good for you !

Thanks for your response! I played a bit more yesterday and saw some of these more clearly when looking for them. Also - I now better understand the aura icon to see that there is usually a downside to it. I should also clarify that the "limit break"-type special ability seems to charge when you are attacked - whether you take it in the face or get dodged, or if your ally gets hit instead (using the "cover"-type mechanic on a tank.) Lots of fun - I finally decided to take a few runs at the first dungeon and felt like I was dominating at the beginning (tank, priest, sorcerer) and then as things got tougher I fell short :) Good times!